KINGSBURY HIGH SCHOOLNEWSLETTER

ISSUE 3 - June 2014

We have been taking a trip down memory lane on our Alumni and Old Scholars facebook page with a series of photographs from times gone by. You can get involved at the following links:

Like our Alumni and Old Scholars facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kingsbury-High-School-Alumni-Old-Scholars/156250727762337

Former students can sign up to our Future First network here: https://networks.futurefirst.org.uk/former-student-search

Kingsbury High School’s Young Enterprise team, Evalesco, triumphed once again at the Young Enterprise West London Final, held at the University of West London on Wednesday 14th May 2014. They were awarded ‘best overall company’ by a panel of judges from the business and academic communities.

Evalesco were commended on their well written company report, marketing, passion, teamwork, and attractive and informative trade stand, for which they also won the award ‘best trade stand’.

Kingsbury High School’s Headteacher, Jeremy Waxman, said “I am so glad that I was there for the moment that the team found out that they won. It was priceless.”

Their success follows a string of accolades, including ‘good sales and excellent team work’ and ‘best performance of the day’ at their Christmas trade stand in Harrow; ‘best trade stand’ when they launched their tea at Brent Cross Shopping Centre; and ‘best company in Brent’ and ‘most innovative product’ at the area final held at Brent Civic Centre.

Evalesco are the first company in the UK to produce original blends of Blueberry with Tulsi & Aloe Vera Tea and Orange Blossom & Ginger Tea.

Managing Director Evalesco, Zoe Yerolemou, said “I am so proud of everyone in the team and of all the hard work they have contributed along this journey. Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is a success. We are that success.”

Evalesco will go on to represent the school at the London finals at Citibank in June.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Kingsbury High School, Princes Avenue, Kingsbury, London NW9 9JR +44 020 8206 3000 school@kingsburyhigh.org.uk

Another Win for Evalesco

A pop-up gallery featuring student’s artwork has been set up in the upper school library.

The display will showcase pieces from BTEC and A level Art & Design courses and will be rotated periodically.

Currently on display in the upper school library is, Year 13 student, Khusali Pindolia’s coursework piece based on the seven deadly sins. She says “My work was largely inspired by Art Nouveau and elements of it can be seen in my work.”

Pop-up Art Gallery

are not falling behind the high expectations we have of them. And we will employ a qualified social worker in the new position of Student Support Leader to work with our vulnerable students and those whose families are experiencing challenges. In the Sixth Form, because, over the years, fewer students have opted to study the GCSE equivalent Level 2 course in travel and tourism, we will offer only the Level 3 courses: A Levels and BTEC Nationals. However, the recently introduced preparation for post-16 study, our Pathway 3 course, will continue to provide an inclusive ethos in our Sixth Form. From September 2014, there will be an increased focus on university skills in the Sixth Form: A Levels and BTEC Nationals will incorporate an hour of supervised independent study time supported by four taught lessons. To further stretch and challenge our most able Sixth Formers there will be access to on-line courses developed by leading Russell Group universities to help prepare students for life on the most competitive degree courses. And our teachers will work with a leading lecturer from the University of East Anglia to develop strategies to help students become better prepared for their future degree course.We will develop the way we support our statemented students, whilst still ensuring we spend every pound we receive in funding for these students. There will be less emphasis on a standardised support assistant approach and we will deploy a combination of care workers, specialist assistants, graduate interns, faculty based curriculum associates, our own speech and language therapist and subject specific teacher support.These changes have come with a cost and there are a small number of redundancies among our support staff, alongside those teachers and support staff who have exercised the option to leave, via voluntary redundancy. We know that one redundancy is one too many but we do believe that the appointments we are making will serve our students well next year.And there has been a cost in other ways too. It’s been a tough year for our staff as we have prepared to become the leaner, fitter organisation we will be next year. A situation like this doesn’t help morale but we are still all pulling together for our students and I must pay great tribute to the work that our staff have undertaken to prepare them for their examinations. Their commitment has been outstanding.To give you, our parents, the opportunity to discuss these changes and to define the Kingsbury High which you’d like to see maintained, we will be holding a special parent forum on Thursday 3rd July at 6.30pm in the Lower School Library.If you are able to come to that meeting, I look forward to seeing you there; if not, I look forward to maintaining our close partnership as we seek to continue to provide the finest possible education for the children of the communities we are proud to serve.

Dear parents, carers and members of our community,I am writing to you about some significant changes taking place at Kingsbury High, designed to create a sustainable school, confident about its future, with practices which improve both our efficiency and the ways in which we serve our students. At the heart of this is our school ethos and we are holding meetings with students, staff and parents to ensure that we work together so that Kingsbury High continues to be the school which means so much to us all.The changes have been occasioned by the need to save a considerable amount of money over the next three years, as a result of reductions in various government funding schemes. The attainment of Academy status three years ago provided a good period of cushioning and means that we have been able to make these changes in a planned, well thought out way, without undue haste. We are used to handling significant change at Kingsbury High and have been working on this package during the academic year. I am going to summarise the changes over the course of the rest of this article.Firstly, a number of our very long-serving teachers have decided to take this opportunity to move on to retirement or to new horizons. For example, we will be saying goodbye, at the end of this term, to Mr Slater and Mr Jamieson, who have been the school’s Deputy Headteachers for many years; to Assistant Headteachers Mrs Brown, Mr Long, Ms McNamara, and Mr Price; to Mrs Day, Mr Hale, Mr Humble, Ms Keane, Mr Knox and Ms Newson. There will also be a few newer teachers leaving either for well deserved promotions or to work abroad. Mrs Nathan, whom many of you will know from our sixth form administration team, is retiring (though I’m pleased to say she will be helping us out for a while next term) along with Mrs Mistry, our long-serving laboratory technician and a number of our support staff colleagues. There will also be new arrivals, for example, to the post of Deputy Headteacher and Head of Geography.We will therefore run the school next year with a much smaller senior leadership team; indeed, that is where we have made most of our savings. At the same time, we are creating opportunities for our teachers to lead developments through a review of our structure of promoted posts. Twelve of our teachers will become “champions” for teaching and learning or for pupils entitled to the Pupil Premium, the funding which the school receives on behalf of students who are looked after or entitled to free school meals. A further teacher will become a champion for literacy.We are developing the way in which we operate our pastoral system. The post of Head of Year will cease to exist, with our Deputy Year Leaders changing to be Year Leaders. Some of our current Heads of Year will become Progress Leaders, with a job to focus on making sure students of all abilities

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KINGSBURY HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ISSUE 3

Message from Mr Waxman

No one could have foreseen the partnership that would develop when Kingsbury High School agreed to temporarily host The Village School while Grove Park and Hay Lane Schools were demolished and rebuilt as one new school. The Village School (TVS) now proudly stands facing Stag Lane and has opened as the largest school with children with special needs in the country.

In June/July of 2011 we saw a building grow swiftly out of part of our Lower School playing field. Classrooms, treatment rooms, lifts and a hall all grew within weeks to provide a complete temporary school for our neighbours and from the start of term we became used to seeing buses and taxis passing through the site to deliver their precious cargo. And so began the opportunities for Kingsbury High to develop links with the students and staff of TVS.

The temporary site made it possible for TVS students to join our classes and within a year, several TVS students could even attend lessons every day; fully integrating into the life of Kingsbury. It became a common sight to see the blue sweatshirts of TVS students passing through our buildings and in true Kingsburian style the students of Kingsbury High welcomed them with respect and care. Kingsbury High students would attend their temporary building to help work with children with very special needs. School management teams began to meet regularly to plan joint events and staff training was developed between the two schools.

In June 2013 their exciting new school was ready and Kingsbury staff had the pleasure of visiting the new facilities before its official opening. Complete with a swimming pool, sports hall, delightful classrooms and a roof top playground, it was evident that at last TVS students would have a school that they truly deserved.

In return for having hosted TVS for these years we have been repaid by having a number of the

KINGSBURY HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ISSUE 3

The Village School Legacy

Kingsbury High School, Princes Avenue, Kingsbury, London NW9 9JR +44 020 8206 3000 school@kingsburyhigh.org.uk

temporary classrooms relocated on the lower school site as well as a brand new sports and play area where the building used to stand. The new classrooms are now in place and open and the playground offers increased opportunities for sport and recreation at Kingsbury High. We are delighted that 2 of the new classrooms linked by a care room will become home to a number of TVS students allowing them to continue their linked lessons with the students of our school. Our work with TVS goes from strength to strength. This year all of our Year 8 students will spend a day as ambassadors working at TVS; from helping run the café and shop to assisting with play, lunchtimes and with lessons.

After completing her day as an ambassador, Year 8 Kingsbury High student, Jessica Ablampah, wrote on her school blog “Overall, at the end of my day, I felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend a day with these inspirational children. I may complain when I don’t like something or if I don’t look right, but seeing these children always smiling, waving at me made me thank God for my life and made me understand how lucky I am.”

On Friday 2nd May, 15 Year 9 students gained glimpses of Kingsbury’s past and possible futures when they visited Cambridge University. Students received a tour of Jesus College and then headed to Selwyn College, where they were hosted by the Head of Admissions at the university, Dr Mike Sewell, and two of our former students: Harshadha Balasubramanian, reading Human, Social and Political Sciences; and Holly Smith, reading Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Students were treated to a tour led by Harshadha and Holly; and were given information about university life and the Cambridge approach to studies.

Students Visit Cambridge

Since leaving Kingsbury High School, Shivi went on to study at Goldsmiths, University of London, to complete a degree in Advertising and Communications. Shivi now works as an Events Manager at the same university.

Shivi was always interested in the Arts at Kingsbury High, and continues to act and perform on stage as a hobby. In 2012 he performed as a principle character in a play written by Meera Syal, at the National Theatre.

Shivi volunteers for Wishful Smiles, a charity founded by a Tia Jounija who is also a former

Kingsbury High School student.

Shivi ran his own t-shirt printing business for a year; and continues to print t-shirts for occasional orders that still come in.

Shivi said “My degree at Goldsmiths was extremely varied and covered such a range of subjects, and consequently, I came out with an array of skills, which has helped me continue to take part in many extracurricular activities which have benefited me in so many ways.

“It is so important to not get too caught up in work, that there’s no or very little time for fun, and doing what you enjoy. I have always found that the busier I am, the more I tend to enjoy life, and that is something I learnt about myself in high school!”

If you are a former Kingsbury High School student and would like to be featured in a half-termly newsletter, please contact

camille.shah@kingsburyhigh.org.uk

On Thursday 27th March, Year 7 students enjoyed a fun-filled day out in London.

Students started their day by watching the Changing the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace; some were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of The Queen as she was driven by.

Students went on to visit Sky Studios at the O2 Arena, London, where they went behind the scenes to see how TV is made. Students experienced what it would be like to work behind a camera and become a newsreader by presenting for Sky News HD and Sky Sports News.

Fourteen Year 9 students went on a football tour during a recent trip to Great Yarmouth. Playing against clubs from all over the UK, they finished in third place, missing out on the final by only one point. This was a fantastic achievement as they were the youngest team in the school tournament.

The highlight of the tour was being awarded with a trophy for the ‘Best Sporting Team’ by former England footballer, Ray Clemence. The award celebrated their excellent behaviour both on and off the pitch.

Alumni Feature - Shivi Hotwani Alumni Feature Continued

Students Visit Sky Studios at the O2 ArenaGreat Yarmouth Football Tour

KINGSBURY HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ISSUE 3

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